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Blindscape

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Description of App:

Featured by Apple in Adventure and Role Playing game categories

A game that takes place entirely through sound, Blindscape is a piece of experimental storytelling. The narrative is told from the point of view of a man in an authoritarian society who wants to escape his life by ending it.

I found this game to present a very insulting perspective on blindness. The entire theme of the game is some guy who has his eyes burned out as some kind of terrible punishment and does not care if he lives or dies. Game play backs up this with frustrating task such as trying to find door handles, I'm not kidding. This task is boring and promotes fictitious difficulties relating to blindness, to find the handle you simply randomly grope around on the screen, which I guess the creator of this game thinks is how one finds a door knob as a blind person. The character even says something along the lines of "never thought finding a door nob would feel like a major acomplishment worthy of celebration". What's more is this game is extremely short. It took the game longer to download then it did for me to complete it. Don't get me wrong I love games like the night jar but trust me this game is very different. I understand playing a game is very subjective but I see no redeeming value in this game. In my opinion it's just not worth the ten minutes of your life it will take to download this game, and the seven minutes of bad game play to have to put up with all of the negative themes of blindness.

Hi! I can definitely relate to the opinions expressed in the previous post: admittedly this game was developed by a sighted person, but did he really have to be so negative about blindness? Sure, we blind people can have trouble finding things, but finding a doorknob is definitely not the huge achievement the man in this game claims it is. Other games, such as Blindside or Papa Sangre or The Nightjar, handle the concept of moving around without seeing where you're going far far better than Blindscape does. As Blindscape is free, I downloaded the game out of curiosity, but, to be honest, I agree that it has hardly any replay value, so I may not keep this game for long: if I don't, at least I didn't waste money on it!

I personally think that everyone absorbs more messages or dialogues according to mood, different or more factors, culture and education.
i do not see any insult to our blind community, all depends on the color of the glass you see it.I'm sure havent pasted over level 2.

I must say, I agree with the second poster. I myself found this game to be a very bad one, and that's saying something. I tried to play it once, and right after it launched, it crashed. But for the short time I was able to play it, I did not enjoy it in the slightest. COmpltet bs, I say. If you're going to create a free blind friendly game, at least have the desire to actually bust your feckin' ass and put in the godamn effert (excuse the painting of a rainbow here).

Seems like many here are doing what is expected of many blind or disabled groups, whining. It is a different perspective on blindness, who knows, the person may hate the concept and want to relay this to the listener. Everybody doesn't think being blind is great and easy and fun and lovely and jumpy up and downy. Yes, I admit, if you have been blind all your life, or has had support to adapt, this may be a little bit insulting but aren't we over thinking this? really, get over it, it was an opinion piece, not a disability awareness statement.

Okay, so it may have been put out as a work of art. True, the dialogue was certainly that which might be considered artistic in one way or another, and I personally didn't mean for my post to come across as bitchy and childish. But overall, I did not find it all that impressive when viewing it as a game. Yes, he or she may have put it out do express his or her discussed at being blind, or some thing similar.
And to a sighted person, maybe fumbling around is how we would find things, and I bet that there are a few of the blind community who actually use that "technique" to find objects like a doorknob, and that's perfectly fine. But I don't get why whoever wrote the app seemed so...bitter and resentful about it. It was rather unexpected, even with the description from the iTtunes app store.

Even though I questioned the need for so much negativity about blindness in this Blindscape game while writing my previous comment here, I can see the other side of the debate too: hard as it can be for those of us who have been blind from birth to relate to how scary sighted people would find it to lose their site, this is a genuine fear many of them have, probably a fear of the unknown as much as of anything else. However, even if we set this negativity aside and consider this game simply as an expression of one man's deep-rooted fear of how horrible it might be to lose his site, that doesn't alter the fact that, whichever side of the debate we're on, this game still doesn't have a great deal of replay value, especially once we've learned the position of doorknobs and other objects we have to find in the game.

I must say I agree with this point. Sure, losing sight if you can see would be one hell of a scary thing to go through. Resentment would be felt, for one thing. Blaim might be laid on more than one person, and the person who lost his or her sight might even go so far as to consider killing themselves, as would seem in this app, at least from what I read in the description.

The guy in the game had had his eyes burned out. That's enough to warp any sense of reality he may have, or may not have had. The game, to me at least, is an expression of how ones sanity and life direction can change in seconds. I doubt the person who wrote the game intends it to be a vision of actual blindness. We don't even get any more backstory than what was presented, the guy had his eyes removed for being antiestablishment. I think the game was an interested look at the inner feeling one would get if they were newly blind. After all, couple this with being locked in a cell for months according to the story and I think any actual sense of reality would be long gone. The story was nothing more than memories and suppositions anyway.
Enough of my attempts to analyse it, just didn't want this discussion to generate in to everyone hates disabled people, the end.
I enjoyed it for the little that it was, different and that's all the developer wanted to produce, something unusual.

This isn't a comment about this game, but about this type of games, the only ones, as far as i know that we blind actually can play called audio games. How come the evolution of these games have come to a grinding halt? I mean how many "experiment" type games have we seen with a overly simple plot that goes along the lines of "blind person finds themselves in some strange place and has to get out using only their ears". Personally i tend to think that this is quickly getting old, especially since as has been pointed out not least in this thread, the games have little or no replay value, you've played it once, you know the plot and don't need to play again. Who else remembers the golden days of "shades of doom", "monkey business" and for what it was worth "Grizly gulch", games you could play for hours on end and still have as much fun with as when you started playing it? Shouldn't we expect from developers to come out with something better than this?

They're great, change reaction is the best thing to happen to blind gaming in a long time. I know it was on Windows and all, but I missed out on it as i'd already switched to OS X. They will be working on IOS games so it might be a good idea to wait. I agree though, many audio games are very similar at this time, but we have seen a couple of developers, this week actually, come out of the woodwork to want to improve there games. It's still a good time for us really.

I view blindscape as a piece of art, not a game, and as art I find it interesting and entertaining. I look forward to experiencing whatever the developer offers up next.
Blindscape is about breaking the law, losing the one you love, being punished for the infraction, and looking for a way out.
Blindness is the end point of all of this, not the centre of all of this.
Most sighted people I have discussed the topic with are terrified of being blind.
It is interesting that the central character is punished for looking at something, and then finds redemption in listening to the music at the end. From despair to courage.
Fellow contributors, please consider: does your blindness make you, or do you make something of your blindness.
David

I think that before we totally dump on the developer, we need to step back, and take a look at the story. Maybe there will be a follow up to the game, where more of the story is told, or talked about. The story is kind of sketchy as it is right now.
I was getting in to the story, but the game ended just as I was getting in to the story. What happens after he finds the music room? Where does it go from there? Game play was, in my opinion, pretty good, but if the guy had been in the apartment for months, he would have probably found the door by now. If he was just blinded, then finding it would be a major accomplishment.
Let's see what happens with the next update, if there is one.

After starting Blindscape but being interrupted so I couldn't finish the game the day I got it, I finally played the whole game through today. In previous comments I mentioned that it doesn't have much replay value, and the main reason for this, in my opinion, is that the game is so short: I got really interested in the story by the time the game ended, and I wish it was at least a bit longer. I wonder if the game will . ever be made longer, or, as a previous comment put it, if there will ever be a follow-up. Maybe the answer to both these questions will be "no", at least for the time being, but I feel more positive about this game now that I have played it all the way through: it's true that I can't relate to finding a doorknob being a big achievement, but it's good that the man in the story had the good sense to escape from his room and to know what to do when he reached different environments in the game. However, given this game's shortness, I still don't know how much I'll replay this, as it'll get so easy after a while that I might get fed up with it if I play it too much.

It sounds like the guy was so depressed after his girlfriend was killed and he lost his eyes it he didn't even try to find it. I think he didn't do much more than sit around, although how he got his food is beyond me since finding the door and I was such a big deal…

The same tip, given in the previous post for finding the dripping pipe, applies when you're heading towards the music at the end of the game. It never occurred to me to play this game without earphones: the mere fact that the speaker of any i-device is mono and earphones are stereo definitely makes this game easier with the latter.

I was curious, and downloaded this little game. After reading some of the earlier comments, and after actually playing the game, I think some of you guys were being a bit too harsh. You have to put yourself in the head of this guy. He's newly blinded, and after having your eyes literally burned out, I would sure think that at that time, you'd probably be thinking finding a doorknob would be a major event. The guy is desperate to leave his room, he wants to escape because he knows there's a better life for him out there somewhere. So before judging the game, think a little bit about how you might feel in a similar situation. I played this game and I never got even a sense of the whole idea that you should feel sorry for, or pitty this guy. A word or 2 about the design of the game. I do think it is a bit clumsy. Finding some objects took a bit longer than I would like, and it seemed like it took forever to get where I needed to go. So maybe if he was able to reach where he wanted to go in fewer steps that might speed up game play a little bit? I'm used to audio games that have sounds to aim for, kind of like the dripping pipe sound, which the developer did just right. I did feel that at times you really had to fumble around, and if the character is looking for something, there needs to be an audible clue, even if it's just wind blowing. It helps the game player know what to do or where to go and it may seem more natural. I think with a bit of re-design the game could be even more fun. I also wonder what happened after he makes it to the room with the music. Does he find his girl? Does he get attacked and is sent back? I'd love to see how the game story continues. Another suggestion is to have some kind of a headphone check. I have a pare of headphones, and while they sound great, it's kind of nice to know if they're positioned the right way before I start playing. Overall I do think this was a pretty solid game. At first, I laughed at the idea of it being a piece of art, but i do understand what people mean now when they say that. Does it have a lot of replay value? Probably not, but I'm actually glad I tried it. This is one of those games that you can play if you only have a few minutes to spare and you want to fill it with something to do. Certainly not bad. Others will disagree, but that's ok.

Hi, I'm Gavin, the guy that created Blindscape. First off, I'm really sorry if you found it insulting or belittling. That wasn't my intention, but I recognize that as a sighted person I'll never really understand. If ever do more of this game I will reach out to this community for advice to help do a better job.
[SPOILER ALERT]
I would like to say that the whole point of the game is that the main character, who has very recently had his sight taken away, actually discovers that he can make his way around the world, and has something to live for. I should add that the blindness isn't the main reason for his depression--he has lost the person he cares about most and has lost control over his life due to the government. In the end he goes from wanting to kill himself to discovering a new relationship with sound and being excited to discover people making music.
My ultimate goal was to show someone who had lost his sight going from hopeless and desperate to being in control of his destiny and joyful in discovering new things.
[END SPOILERS]
I hope that helps to explain where I was coming from when I created this game--trying to give sighted people a new appreciation for sound. And for those who did enjoy it, thanks very much for your kind words.

I'm not much of a gamer, but given the "controversy," and that the game was reported as short, I gave it a try. I enjoyed it. It sounded great, and the story, short and sweet as it is, was engaging. Maybe there's an inner gamer in me looking to break out, just as the character in the game is. Who knew!

Gavin,
no, You'll never understand what it's like to be blind, but I can't thank you enough for creating this game! Everyone who said the game sucks, keep in mind the above, he does not know what it's like to be blind, just like many of us don't know what it's like to be deaf or parolised. Come on guys, I've been watching this thread for days and it's really upsetting.

Hello Gavin,
Thanks for taking the time to come on to AppleVis. It is always great to have developers to take the time and engage with the community.
Most of all. Thank you for explaining the idea behind the story of the game. That is very much appreciated. Assumptions can always get you nowhere if you don't know the original intent. There was no harm done in this game at all. From being sighted myself for so many years to only have my eyes taken away later. I understand both side of the coin that have been mentioned on this thread. The main point of this is that this is only a game. It isn't real. It is a story. A pure fictional story.
Everyone has a different story to tell. I know for myself it was devastating and was a very hard struggle. However, at some point we all get through it. So I personally took no offense to this game only because I didn't think for once you were stereotyping the visually impaired community. Losing my sight was no fun and games. This story as sad it was at first is in some cases a reality for those thinkin what going blind means. Yes, all sighted people do not know the hardship of being blind and the wonderful things of being blind. I am happy as a clam now.
This game has great sounds and the audio is wonderful. I also wish the game was longer plus given a bit more of a challenge rather groping around the screen.
So all in all. You learned from this game and from the users. It only means you may bring on more audio games that are more challenging for the users. I would love that. I would challenge you in doing so. I personally would to see another game by you.
So thanks for the hard work you put in to this game.
One last thing to remember. We need to remember that all games are different. There are many great games with good replay values. These sort of game don't have replay. That was the design of it. It is a story and you get through it. If you want replay games then there are other great games that do provide that for you. I prefer that we see more of both. I like these type of story game you go through once. There are other times I like to play dice games and such with replay values.
Just my thoughts.
So thanks Gavin.

Hello Gavin,
As you can see from my comment further up this chain, I pretty much worked out what your intention was, and I'm not a particularly subtle person, and I lack a heightened passion for art.
You succeeded admirably.
Make the pieces of art/games you want, because without making art in the way you want the audience won't have to think or feel their way through the experience.
Being blind can be a pretty raw thing at times, but that doesn't mean you need to be overly concerned with us being a bit raw when you design your next piece of art.
David

Hello Gavin.
Firstly, I'd love to give my warmest thanks to you and all developers who think of universal access. Any plans on supporting other languages in future apps?
I'd be more than happy to work on translating any future app like this one into Arabic. I will be contacting you via email.
Regards.
Khalfan.

I might agree that this game took longer to download than to play but if you look at it from the perspective of a newly blind person, I don't think it is offensive or insulting. This person is bitter but that may be because he is blind as a punnishment. I wish there were more substance to the game.

If you read my previous comment, you know I was not offended. Gavin, you did well at communicating your story.
The sound effects--especially the music were great. I hope you will consider adding more levels or creating more games.

what's new
reduced file size
fixed non_retina iPhone display issue
unfortunally non advance or feature for our blind community
fix small bug wasn't notable on iPhone
personally this update looks as previous version
no more steps or levels.
just wait to the next update to see more features.

Have we forgotten thank you? The negativity on most of forums whether or not i personally agree is astounding. I, at least, rarely post because though I personally would not spend money on flexy nor blind square, I'm not jumping on those who do or criticising what's put up on the app store. Instead of luck, we provide a gauntlet that any developer who gets through should certainly get a game center badge.